NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 130, 29 November 1939, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

i Well »Over Seventy.

As anticipated, yesterday's shade temperatures in Wellington easily passed the 70-degree mark, the first occasion this season that they have done so. The weather was less muggy than on the previous day, when the thermometer all but reached 70, but it was distinctly warmer. At 9 a.m. the thermometer reading was 67.6 degrees, and it rose steadily until about 2.15 pirn., when a temperature of 73.9 degrees was recorded. That was the highest point reached, and it was high enough to warrant the statement that summer is really here. Beer for Nurses. Red-caped nurses were among the customers when the wet canteen was opened at- the Burnham Military Camp on Monday .evening, states the "Christchurch Star-Sun." Lusty cheers were given as the three nurses from the camp hospital were escorted to a table under an umbrella. Each carried a foaming tankard which was drunk in the company of the officers and men. Enlistments from Public Works. Praise for the type of men employed by the Public Works Department was expressed on Monday by the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R. Semple, in stating that a large number of the men had enlisted in the military forces and many more would be following them, states the "New Zealand Herald." The Public Works men had a record for speed and efficiency equal to anything in tHe world. The majority were of. a fine class and were physically fitted by their work for military service. . " What Bumpers. Are For. A description of the methods which many American motorists adopted when they found there was insufficient space to park their cars was given by Mr. D. A, Ewen, District Governor of Rotary for New Zealand, in a travel talk to members of the Invercargill Rotary Club at a dinner at Te Anau on Saturday night, reports the "Southland Times." "If there is not enough room.for his car a motorist will just charge into the car in front until he has made room," said Mi". Ewen. When he questioned this habit he was told: "That is what •bumpers are for." School Pupils at Exhibition. In response, to a request from the Wellington Colleges Board of Governors the Centennial Exhibition Company has agreed to grant the concession of juvenile season tickets for the Exhibition at 15s to all pupils of both primary and secondary schools, irrespective of age. According to the report of Miss Isaac, principal of Weir lington, EastGirls' College, this concession "has .enabled some of the older pupils to take advantage of the Exhibition privilege and to benefit, educationally as a result. Miss Isaac added that the girls who attended the Exhibition were making good use of their time there. x ' Commercial Examinations. v , The number of candidates who sat for the commercial examinations held last week was 581, an increase of ,76 over last year's total, which was itself a record. In reporting on the examinations to the council of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce last evening, Mr. P. E. Pattrick, chairman of the examinations committee, said that the establishment of the new record was very gratifying'. • The number of papers taken was 1153, an increase of 321 on the previous figure, and there were 120 candidates for the Chamber of Commerce scholarship, an increase of 32. St. Andrew's Day. / Tomorrow, November 30, will be celebrated as St. Andrew's Day by every son and daughter of Scotland, no matter in what part of the world they may happen to be. Scotland's patron saint, in fact, has far more honour accorded him than England's St. George. St. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, so tradition tells, preached in Asia Minor along the Black Sea as far as the River Volga, hence he became Russia's patron saint. He was made^ the patron saint of Scotland in the eighth century, his relics being supernaturally, transplanted from Constantinople to.the spot in Scotland*where sprang up the historic town of St. Andrews. The usual Town Hall concert tomorrow night will be Wellington's main contribution towards'celebrating St. Andrew's Day, while there willbe other functions in which no doubt haggis and other mysterious and potent compounds will play a leading part. College Undisturbed!, The noises incidental to the amusement park at the Centennial Exhibition have not seriously affected the work of the boys at Rongotai College, according to a report* presented by the college principal, Mr. F. Martyn Renner, to the Wellington Colleges Board of Governors yesterday. After a fortnight the first effects of Piayland had worn off. "In reality," the report said, "the noise of the aeroplanes overhead has been and continues to be a much greater source of disturbance. Our chief worry is the trespassers on the grounds during weekends and at night. Already much damage has been done to school property and to the obstructions surrounding the Exhibition grounds. . . . Locks and barred gates | and doors have proved no obstacle to the invaders of the grounds." It was regrettable that the college had not. a' resident! caretaker such as the other colleges had. Developing Rock Oyster Beds. Increased cultivation and propagation work is being done on the rock oyster beds this season by the Fisheries Department, the programme of improvement embracing all the chief sources of supply, states the "New Zealand Herald." The fixing of oyster spat on the rocks last season was fairly good, and a survey by the Department's officers shows that good supplies of 'oysters of an excellent grade will be available for the market next winter. On all the beds the removal of grapevine seaweed, the picking of old shells, and the collection of the borer are being systematically pursued. At Kaipara new beds are being laid on a more extensive scale than in any previous season, the rock employed being obtained locally. Stone is also being distributed to provide new beds at Russell and Whangarei. From Kawau, which is a natural nursery, 250 concrete posts clustered with one-year-old oysters have been transferred to Coromandel, where conditions are more favourable for. adult development. Some new rocks have been distributed on this area in the expectation that they will attract spat. About 300 new concrete posts are now being made for placing at Kawau. When covered with young oysters these possibly will be transferred to- richer feeding grounds. In the Hauraki Gulf a gang is regularly employed in clearing rocks of weed and in other routine work, but some new rocks may be distributed.

Clear Duty to Empire.

"Since last we met our Empire has become involved in war, and though far removed from the actual scene of the conflict, we in New Zealand are just as deeply involved as is the Motherland," said Mr. W. E. Hale, chairman of the New Zealand Dairy Board, in opening the Dominion dairy conference today. "If the Empire were defeated, we in the Dominions would be among the greatest sufferers. But the Empire won't be defeated, and it is part of our job as farmers to see that it isn't. Foodstuffs are munitions of war and just as essential to success as shells. It is our duty to provide those foodstuff. munitions and nothing whatever should stand in our way. No matter how great. are the difficulties which face us, we cannot and must not take up a defeatist attitude, but must concentrate on increasing production. Great as are our troubles, our duty to the Empire is clear."

Music Scholarship.

Conditions governing the George and Frances Beetham music scholarship, tenable for two years at Wellington College, were fixed by the Wellington Colleges Board of Governors yesterday. The scholarship, which is £25 a year, is to be awarded to the candidate showing the most proficiency and ability in music, and in the first instance the scholarship is to be awarded at the beginning of the year to the first-year pupil showing these qualifications. The award is open to boys outside greater Wellington.

One Car Holds Up Two Streets..

One car, parked near the tram stop at the corner of Willis Street • and Lambton Quay yesterday afternoon from 5 o'clock onwards, held up a-line of cars and lorries, with a tram here and there, from the bank corner right back* through Willis and Manners Streets, to Cuba Street. . Because of the position of the parked car and the close running, of trams at that time the head of the traffic line was jammed arid the tail built up, back and back, within minutes. There is a clear .rule prohibiting parking in Willis Street except for the handling of passengers or goods, with'a limit of five minutes, and another rule' against parking at tram stops, but, bylaws, apart, common sense should be enough to keep such a bottleneck clear of standing .cars. Usually during peak hours traffic officers are stationed at the bank corner, at the Mercer Street intersection,: and at other key points to ensure that car and tram traffic shall not be held up by parking or out of line driving. Yesterday's hold-up was considerably worse than usual. '